How to adjust Perodua Kancil Headlamps

If you are experiencing frequent headlight flashing particularly from the vehicles of your opposite direction, that really means something. Please check your headlamps immediately. Your low beams could be too high or too dazzling for the oncoming drivers.

This is my Perodua Kancil (1997 - present). Kancil is just small car but still can fit in a very big guy like my Jordanian friend Anas.

When I changed my Kancil headlamps to the new ones, I didn't even think about the headlamp adjustment. As an ordinary driver, all I want is to get the new one fixed and then just drive away. In terms of 'Fix N Go' kind of service, I think the mechanic did well for my car. The new headlamps were nicely installed and work as intended. However realizing a number of headlight flashing I received after that, I knew something was wrong with my low beam alignment. What a frustration! But this was not the end of this chapter, in fact it was just a new beginning since in turn I learned something good. I learned how to adjust the headlamp myself, alhamdulellah.

Here I give you a simple guideline on how to adjust your Perodua Kancil headlamps. It is also applicable to Daihatsu Mira (3rd Gen), Daihatsu Ceria (Indonesia), Perodua Nippa (UK) and perhaps Subaru Rex (since all of them are sister cars to the 3rd generation Daihatsu Mira). By the way, my headlamp is of a square type.

Where are the adjuster screws?

There are two hexagonal headed screws located on the upper side of the headlamps (on both left and right). For the left side headlamp, the left screw is for up-down alignment, while the right screw is for left-right alignment. It should be another way around for the right side headlamp.

My old headlamps. Take a closer look at the adjuster screws.

I do advice you to use offset ring spanner (offset wrench) for your headlamp adjustment. Size 8-9 offset ring will do.

For me, night time is the best time for headlamp adjustment. You can observe the performance of the illuminating beam before your very eyes.

One of the adjuster screws is not easily reachable by ordinary open-end spanner. You need to use the offset type. Inset: Offset ring spanner

A step by step guide to adjusting your headlamps:

• Park your Perodua Kancil in front a wall (approx. 2 meters distance will do).
• Turn on your headlamps and switch it to low beam. Mark the focal point of the left and right beams using coloured tapes.
• Adjust the up-down alignment. Turn anti-clockwise to lower the beam or turn clockwise to elevate the beam.
• Adjust the left-right alignment. Turn clockwise to direct the beam to the center. Turn anti-clockwise to shift the beam to the lateral side (off-center).

Note: Unlike the original HL from Japan, some copy version from Taiwan may have an opposite tuning direction for the up-down and left-right alignment. Better check and play around with it, the more you get use to it the better the adjustment.

Test-drive your car and observe the beam.

• If so happened that you are tailing another car, the low beam should not hit the rear-view mirror of the front car. You need to further lower the beam otherwise.
• Your illuminating beams should distribute almost to the center and allow certain amount to diffuse to the lateral side. If they are too off-center, further adjustment will be required.

My last call
To car accessories shop owners, if you are selling headlamps, please make sure that you also do the headlamp adjustment. If you don’t provide the service, be honest. At least tell your customer how to do it.

Kaspersky AV2010 Root Scan Issue: Solve it using KAV2011

I have been using Kaspersky AV since 2005 and a legal user since 2007 [From My Desk: Kaspersky Antivirus - It's time to be a legal user]. Since that time I have experienced the best virus protection ever for all my PCs, laptop and netbook. No wonder Kespersky was graded the best Antivirus for the new millennium. However, those comfortable years don't last forever. Kaspersky has been badly criticised after the released of KAV/KIS 2010. Since I'm a loyal Kaspersky user, though a bit surprised, I'm inline with the critics. It's all about the root scan, that's what let me and others down.

Since upgrading to KAV2010, I noticed that my laptop runs slower at the start up, my broadband initialization turns sluggish, as well as my browsers' initialization. Apparently KAV2010 root scan has badly affected my Vista-based PC but not XP. I realized I'm not the only one facing this problem. What an embarrassment to the so-called 'the best Antivirus of the new millennium' after loyal users put so much faith in it but end up with sluggish initialization and poor start up.

The question is why Kaspersky Lab put so much emphasis on the root scan? There must be a solid reason behind it. I spent my 10 minutes googling for the answer and trying to find out what root scan really is and its correlation with rootkit. What I understand, in a layman's term, rootkit is a virus program, but unlike ordinary computer viruses, its code was writen in such a way so that its activities are hidden from detection by users and in a more advanced manner, undetectable by many antivirus software. That's not cool, isn't it? The consequences are also severe - users might end up with their password, identity and secrecies stolen by cyber criminals.

Now I realized how important root scan is. I'm glad that I'm still part of legal Kaspersky Antivirus community. Kaspersky Antivirus has been rated #2 in 2010 Topten Reviews: 2011 AntiVirus Software Review Product Comparisons, #2 in 2010 Notebook Review: Best Antivirus 2010 Buyers Guide and #3 in 2010 PC Antivirus Reviews. Based on my experience, Kaspersky always responds quickly to new viruses, way faster than F-Secure or Symantec Norton.

Untick the Perform Regular Rootkit Scan in General Scan Setting

If you are experiencing sluggish initialization and poor start up, that is not the end of your PC world, just upgrade your KAV/KIS2010 to KAV/KIS2011. There is an option where you can set rootkit scan to be non-regular (I couldn't find this option in my KAV2010). Just do it and have a peace of mind. For my case, my Vista-Based laptop performs much better than before, alhamdulellah.
.

Firecrackers and Bull Run Tradition: When money and excitement ruled safety out

Run for survival: Bull runners may experience the greatest joy and excitement

Encierro, that's what the Spanish called it. It involves acts of running and securing oneself from loose-running wild behaving bulls in a small town street of Spanish-style town house. It is wild and dangerous but many claimed that this event is full of excitement, since panicking and surviving danger are what average bull running fans crave for.

I've never been to this kind of festival and I don't think I will. Watching these people in actions really caused my heart throbbing out of my chest particularly when it involves tossing and goring of human flesh by the angry bulls. But from what I observed, although it had claimed lives and injured thousands, it is not as 'extremely dangerous' as many people think. In fact, statistics showed that since 1910 there have only been 15 fatalities compared to 182 fatalities due to auto racing crashes.

No mercy: A runner is being gored by an angry bull

Common eyesight injuries due to firecrackers in India - The Tribune

Firecracker injuries are also common in The Philippines - News Flash

The statistics of the earlier is also much lower compared to the fatalities and injuries due to homemade mercun/fireworks/firecrackers. Whatever the statistics tell, it is clear that they are not a safe game to play. Although mercuns are banned in my country (mercun is a Malay term for firecrackers), they are visible in almost every corner of the village and town. And from what I observed, it is a lot worse than 'Running of The Bull'. Mercuns are not just very noisy and disturbing, they are also damaging to our ears and our properties. Every year a number of children all around the world lost their fingers and eyesight due to mercun mishandling. Shouldn't it be a wake up call? I do blame parents, adult society and authority for this failure. I still believe the authority should be the entity that care. The question is, are we doing enough? If we aren't, that means it's money and excitement that rule! Enough said.

For me, I'm against mercun for now and forever. Mercun is nothing but just another sign of parental and religious breakdown.
.

Hayat FM

.

The portal of The Official Hayat FM Website

I couldn't remember the first time I listened to this radio station, perhaps, somewhere early 2007. Hayat FM (FM حياة) is an Arabic Radio Station from Jordan, broadcast in FM band at 104.7 MHz. Since Hayat FM is also transmitted via internet, it can be heard outside Jordan, including my country Malaysia.

Why I like to listen to Hayat FM?

1. Hayat FM offers a non-stop Arabic environment for free.
- I'm not an Arab but I love Arabic language and I believe many other Malaysians like it too. It's such a shame that we don't have such Arabic Radio station in Malaysia. What I learned, in order to master such language, we need to have an environment that constantly airs the native style of communication.

2. Hayat FM offers a variety of programs that confined to my Islamic cultures and suit my ears.
- It has Quran, nasheed, Islamic Preaching, daily life discussion, etc. (by the way, their selection of nasheeds is way better than our very own Radio IKIM), which makes Hayat FM one of the best Arabic Radio stations on earth.

3. Hayat FM offers listeners both standard Arabic and Jordanian Arabic
- I used to learn and practice basic Jordanian/Palestinian Arabic when I was doing my post-graduate studies in USM Penang (majority of my Arab friends are Jordanian/Palestinian). I don't want to lose both accents just like that. As a working guy, I don't have time to go to Arabic classes as well. Listening to Hayat FM helps me to at least recall some of the vocabularies.

*I'm aware that some Islamic preaches are delivered in Egyptian accent (because the preachers are Egyptians). Well, it's okay to me.


How to listen to Hayat FM via internet?
(Guidelines for non-Arabic speakers)

Click the link below to go to Hayat FM Website:
http://www.hayat.fm/

Then click the smiley icon with headphone that renders 'Launch Player Application' to pop up on your screen.
mms://wms.joinstream.net/hayat

Click the smiley icon to initiate Hayat FM radio

Launch Application will pop up on your screen

Choose your player and click OK. It will play in your player, as simple as that. Unless you are using proxy, you may have limited access.

I do encourage Arabic learners to listen to Hayat FM. You'll enjoy, inshaAllah.

HAPPY LISTENING TO HAYAT FM

*By the way, I would like to thank my Jordanian brother Khalid Jaber for introducing Hayat FM to me.
.

My Perhentian Trip

.

Perhentian Islands, consist of Small Island and Big Island, lie approximately 20 km from the coast of North Terengganu

Many of my close friends particularly Arabs went there before me. Their interesting stories and satisfaction were enough to convince me that this should be my next holiday destination. Perhaps canceling my Jordan visit that suppose to take place on early June this year wasn't that bad after all. At least I got my local Perhentian as replacement. The only thing I need was a traveling partner. Thanks to two young mountain hikers, Fahies and Fitri for joining the trip. It so happened that they were the right people at the right time, alhamdulellah.

My traveling partners, Fahies and Fitri during island tracking

Breathtaking scenery from Aur Beach, Perhentian Kecil during sunset

At Paradise Watercolours Resort

Local Besut guy Fahies makes Perhentian trip so easy for us

View of Small Perhentian Island from Water Bus

I'm a non-boater but I do enjoy my boat trip to Perhentian Islands. Love the water taxi ride too. Snorkeling in a crystal clear water... it was such an amazing experience.

Back to the main land...

Only now I realized, District of Besut actually has quite a lot to offer. Friendly local dwellers, beautiful beaches, clear blue waters, etc. If you are looking for nice tasty keropok lekor (Malay kind of fish sausages), Besut does offer some of the best.

Bukit Keluang Beach at Kuala Besut

Rocky cave at Bukit Keluang Beach

My Perhentian Islands trip was a success. I really want to thank my traveling partners, Fahies and Fitry, for being so easy going inside and outside the journey. May Allah bless you guys...
..

When MJ Ghost Sighting turns into MJ Ghost Prank... It's hilarious!

MJ died on June 25, 2009. King of Pop, that was the greatest title given to him when he was alive. Almost everything with MJ is sensational, i.e. plastic surgery, nose, skin colour, children, Neverland, his enigma, etc. So many things have been talked about, even in his death. On the negative side, it's scandalous. On the positive side, it renders his fame to be long-lasting.

When MJ ghost sighting turned into an internet sensation, I just shut it off because I don't buy it and I don't believe such crap, sorry. Only a week after his death? Oh come on! I wonder who's behind this. I know there are so many opportunists out there who like to take advantage and make money out of him.

Actually I've seen the footage of MJ ghost sighting in CNN Larry King Show in Youtube. Yes I saw the shadowy human-like figure. Whosoever is behind the curtain, your image manifestation was a success but still far from convincing.

I'm not surprised when the footage was eventually manipulated and reuploaded as MJ ghost prank, i.e. something like freaky scary face that pop up on the screen and spurt terrifying scream at you. I have to admit that I do enjoy watching some of it. The best MJ ghost prank could probably come from this one:

So sweat and hilarious! I almost lost my breath laughing!

Thanks PrincessBlondie34 for posting.

.

Salute to Turkish-led Gaza aid flotilla activists

.

Turkish Ferry Mavi Marmara leads the fleet of six ships to Gaza

When Gaza aid flotilla sets to sail for Gaza, many of us anticipate anxiously to know whether the international humanitarian activists can break the Israeli blockade, and more importantly whether they can survive the precarious journey to the world's largest open air prison, Gaza.

As expected, Israel will not just not allow aid ships to approach Gaza, instead they will gun down anyone whom they consider 'potential threat' even though they are unarmed and far from lethal. Eventually, on 31 May 2010, 10.30 AM (Malaysian time), the journey turned into another bloody episode. Nine activists were shot dead and more than 60 wounded after a deadly raid by Israeli soldiers. It really burns me up, so don’t ask me why I hate Israel. They are simply inhuman.

[From My Desk: Don’t ask me why I hate Israel]

Here, I would like to offer my condolences over the death of nine Gaza aid flotilla activists. According to Al-Jazeera, eight Turkish and one American were among the dead.

Istanbul Protest: Salute to my Turkish brothers

To all Gaza Flotilla activists, even though your fleets may not reach Gaza, you guys did a very wonderful job. You guys are the new heroes of the world. The most important, Gaza aid flotilla is clearly a media success and will become a morale booster to a more united Muslim world.
.

Man vs Food: The Ugly Truth

Airs on Astro Malaysia Channel 707

Man vs Food - I have watched the show, never the entire episodes, but many times still. This makes me wonder since in reality I hate competitive food eating, regardless whether it is a contest or a TV show. The host, Adam Richman may have gained superfluous popularity for being an extraordinary food conqueror of the planet but I doubt whether he feels himself a winner or a loser. It was not because of the popular Adam Richman that drives me to watch the show, in fact my curiosity to know whether he can survive excessive food stuffing challenge was the utmost compelling factor.

Adam Richman is just an enthusiastic eater

Watching him eating doesn't scare me much but I do concern about his competitive eating style, in which in a long run may destroy his health forever. I'm a big fan of The Biggest Loser. I've seen people worked hard to be healthy. It is such a shame to see Man vs Food goes on the contrary. And I pity Adam for the choice he made to be the hungry eater.

I'm aware that he does some exercises for maintaining his health but the question is, is it enough to offset the calorie intake? What say you Adam?

High rating reflects its popularity and people may have fun watching it but still Man vs Food is so unhealthy to watch particularly for those overweight. The TRUTH is competitive eating style is very very unhealthy, not just because it has high possibility to make one overweight, besides there are other risks, i.e. choking and damaging the stomach by stuffing food/junkies beyond its routine capacity.

Man vs. food can make one looks very ugly

Another truth - food can never fight man. It is men who fight among themselves for food.
.

White frame glasses: Failed and stugly!

I don't know when it started and I'm not interested to know the history. Crazy fashion fanatics may regard white sunglasses as fashion. Unfortunately it doesn't work for me that way.

As far as I'm concern, fashion is one thing, yet style is another. To be stylish at the same time fashionable does not always end up with something pleasant, you know it.

Kanye West looks like a weirdo to me... This eyewear fashion FAILED !

The same goes to our eyewears. Each one of us has different face shape thus renders eyeglass frame selection a hard task. Wrong selection will make us look unattractive and perhaps older. The issue here is what colour is your frame?

Gold, camel, copper, peach, plum, coral, black and gray are perhaps the most common. Just please don't tell me that you are wearing WHITE !

I'm against those who wear solid white eyeglass frames especially for wearing in the office, wedding or any formal functions. You will end up looking like a moron. Believe me. But if you still wear it, it's your right. I'm not going to stop you, it's just that I'm against it.

I do realize some international celebrities walk on the street in white sunglasses. But they are super celebrities. Super celebrities can introduce a lot of trashy fashions, yet still idolized by their fans. If Lady Gaga, Elton John or Paris Hilton wears white eyeglass frame, who cares? I'm totally not surprised.

We Asians have to think twice. I have a few examples down here and you can make your own judgment (pictures are simply searchable on the net).

White frame Mr Kungfu just came out from the matrix...

Sorry girl, this white frame doesn't suit you at all

Wearing white frame needs a lot of courage and really needs a high degree of perasan (Malay word which means think too good about him/herself). Perhaps I should congratulate those who wear it... NOT!

White eyeglass frame has no difference with white eyeliners and white lips (look at the picture below). It is okay if we are not beautiful (always say alhamdulellah) but don't apply something that will make you look stupid and ugly. Always think before you do...

Japan fashion craze - white eyeliner, white lips and brown skin
This make up really freaks me out... FAILED !

Kulim-Taiping weekly travel: now I save 40 km

There are at least three common routes connecting Taiping and Kulim. Since I am a weekly traveler, such distance above 100 km will be considered long distance. Thus shorter traveling time is preferred, even though I have to pay more for tolls.

I use the most popular 'faster route' Taiping Utara-Juru PLUS Highway and Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE) for my weekly Taiping-Kulim routing. It is convenient, clean, non-snakey and almost clear from potholes.

I never thought of trying other routes until my friend Asri convinced me of the Kulim-Serdang-Bandar Baharu-Taiping Utara route as shorter and passable.

Road map clearly shows that Kulim-Serdang-Bandar Baharu-Taiping Utara is a shorter route compared to the popular highway route

I tried the route last two weeks. To be honest, it was fun. I love the countryside, it's beautiful. It was far from snakey and the traveling time was comparable with the so-called 'faster route', i.e. 1.5 hours. So, not bad at all. The most important, I save 43 km petrol consumption and RM7.30 of highway tolls.

Summary:
Distance from my rental house (Kulim) to my house (Taiping)
...via Taiping Utara-Juru PLUS Highway + BKE = 137 km
...via Kulim-Serdang-Bdr Baharu-Taiping = 94 km
(save 43 km)

Toll fares
...via Taiping Utara-Juru PLUS Highway + BKE = RM8.50 + RM3.20 = RM11.70
...via Kulim-Serdang-Bdr Baharu-Taiping Utara = RM4.40
(save RM7.30 (USD2.15))

Route selection is not a simple equation. Some prefer shorter distance, some prefer faster traveling time. The choice is yours... To me I accept any alternative routes as long as it is passable, shorter and non-boring drive..

"I'M JUST A WEEKLY TRAVELER"

I found another shorter route! You should read this too:
From My Desk: Kulim-Taiping Weekly Travel (Part 2)

Kukukukuku

.
You could probably wondering what that is. It is neither a child nor a parrot babbling. That five repeating syllable of 'ku' has its meaning and is actually Malay compound words.

ku = shorter expression of aku = I / me / my
kuku = fingernail
kukuku = my fingernail
kukukuku = kuku-kuku = fingernails
kukukukuku = kuku-kukuku = my fingernails

That is the art of language. Isn't it interesting?

Kukukukuku has nothing to do with Cuckoo Clock or Coo Coo Duckling

Fingernail is called 'kuku' in Malay

Now try to figure this out:

"Kuku-kuku kakiku kaku"

You can use dictionary to look up for the meaning or if you find it hard, just check with your Malay speaking friends. Good luck...
.

Too many ants? Get rid of them today!

Ants could probably the most organized non-human creatures on the planet. They are also the hardest working, excellent team workers and super strong creatures that can lift at least 20 times of their body weight. Yet, they are also one of the most annoying when they actively roam and march all over the place. I consider it alarming if they start crawling over your body while you're having sweet dreams.

What are the reasons for having too many ants in your house? From my observation, it has always been about food. Human dwelling place, which is normally food rich, is also habitable to those tiny creatures. Once it becomes its happy hunting ground, that's it! You are going to have a very hard time to phase them out.

I'm not an ant expert. I will never be. But living in a tropical country like Malaysia, in which ants are consistently coexistence, have given me a better understanding on their behaviour, how they work and the conditions that draw them to our dwelling places. Therefore, let me share some of my experience, i.e. how to get rid of them.

As a Muslim, what I learn, never kill insects with fire. Except, if they are harmful, they may be killed with insecticides (please refer to your religious scholars for better explanation).

Secondly, I don't believe feeding with sugar or any kind of food outside your courtyard, is a solution for ants removal. Instead, it will make them grow healthier and may end up in larger colony. Besides, what will happen when you stop feeding them?

Family ant bait (available in TESCO and popular store)

If you really want to get rid of them, try to use ant bait. It's clean and huffing free. I used Family Ant Bait (brand name). It works well for tropical ants, regardless the colour whether they are red or black, seriously by God will it works! But of course it is not a minute reaction. It takes days for you to see the result (at least five days).

Simple step: Uncap and place at least two ant baits near your food waste. For my case, I parked them near the rubbish bin. Add more ant baits as required.

Let them enjoy the baits. Black ants crowding the ant baits within two minutes of uncapping. Fast, eh?

Now at my home, ants are almost unnoticed. No more annoyance by ants. Try it!

Poco-Poco no more

Poco-Poco (pronounced as pocho-pocho) is a folk dance originated from the region of Sulawesi-Moluccas-Papua in Indonesia. Unlike aerobic exercise that the movement is normally choreographed to the music, Poco-Poco on the other hands according to their fans is more to a simple body exercise that consists of six simple steps but still fun and entertaining.

I was introduced to this dance when I attended a compulsory training course in 2008. At that time I wasn't aware that Poco-Poco has been quite popular amongst the wives of diplomats of the two countries, Indonesia-Malaysia. Now it is no longer exclusive to the VIPs, in fact it has become a routine exercise in many government's programs in Indonesia and Malaysia.

The question is do I like this dance? Well to be honest, I respect Poco-Poco for being a cultural dance but it is just not my preference of exercise. Not just because I'm not comfortable to dance in public, the most important because I'm a Muslim. Besides there are so many ways to exercise without singling out to Poco-Poco. It is such a shame to see Muslim women with hijab dancing Poco-Poco without realizing how clownish they look, sorry ladies.

I may have joined Poco-Poco for the second time last year. I may have seen all those clownish acts and moves. I will make sure that that will be the last. No more Poco-Poco for me, inshaAllah.

By the way, I found a video showing Mr Bean dances Poco-Poco. Although it is a fake video but it's enough to convince me not to dance Poco-Poco again.

This is what happens when Mr Bean tries to dance Poco-Poco

I almost lost my breath watching this video. Thanks Joey JY for uploading. It's really funny

HP customer participation program: Customize your installation

.
When I googled for 'HP Customer Participation program (CPP)', I found many users want it to be removed. The main reasons were simply because it consumes a lot of HD space and slow down their computers. Depending on the printer model and version of CPP, some claimed to suffer 110 to 293 MB HD space utilization. Well to me it's definitely too much for the so-called 'Customer Participation Program'.

Some intended to remove/uninstall the program but afraid to do so due to the warning dialog "Removal of these programmes is NOT recommended if you are going to continue to use any of the following devices with this computer - HP Photosmart All-in-one".

Well users, no need to be panic. You still can remove the CPP totally without getting the warning dialog appears on your screen or without worrying that your HP Deskjet All-In-One will not work correctly. What you need to do is to customize your installation.

First thing first, uninstall all your HP Deskjet All-In-One software. Redo installation process. Choose Advanced Install. Just allow HP to check for updates, no harm. Then select Custom (for advanced users)*.

Under custom installation untick HP CPP (a must do action). For a guy of my standard I will only install HP Update, HP Solution Center and HP Imaging Device Functions. You can select whatever you like according to your preference. Press next to continue installation.

Then don't forget to restart your computer. In case of missing file(s), let your computer search the missing file(s) from your CD installer. I'm sure your HP Deskjet All-In-One will function as per intended use, inshaAllah. I hope this helps, good luck.

BWF Malaysia Open 2010 Final

.
Wow, he done it again! To defend his Malaysia Open title is not an easy task, to win a back to back titles is much more an uphill task (he won Korea Open last week). What else can I say?

Congratulations Lee Chong Wei for winning his 6th Malaysia Open title yesterday. Also I would like to congratulate Koo Kean Keat and Tan Boon Heong for winning the men's double, after given a scare by Chen Xu and Guo Zhendong of China in a hard fought final.

Misbun's coaching style works well for Lee Chong Wei

Koo Kean Keat/Tan Boon Heong vs Chen Xu/Guo Zhendong

The crowd support is just amazing
Notice the Pakcik in Malaysian Flag dress..

This guy (in circle) really pisses me off. He's not a Malaysian. I've never seen anybody like him, he goes absolute nuts that day

It was a wonderful final. Sudirman and I almost lost our energy applauding the Malaysian and other non-Chinese players throughout the tournament. The most important is to break the Great China Wall and stop them from dominating the world badminton. Finally Malaysia bagged two titles and China three.

We're happy to bring home good memories of Malaysia Open. Sudirman and I bought Proton Malaysia Open 2010 t-shirt and cute Yonex bag. I also bought BWF China Open 2009 t-shirt (having Yonex Denmark label at the back).

Our exhaustion and hunger were finally offset by delicious Sate Kajang (Kajang Satay). The most important we arrived back home in Kulim at 12.30 midnight safe and sound, alhamdulellah.

BWF Malaysia Open 2010 Semifinal

.
I may not be a badminton fanatic but have been in love with badminton since I was a kid. Badminton, no doubt is a popular sport for most Malaysians. For the first time in my life I went to watch live action from some of the top badminton players of the world at Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur. I went there with Sudirman, my office-mate cum badminton playmate.

Being one of the spectators at a live Badminton Super Series tournament, was it not exciting? Hey, it was more than exciting! Thanks to my housemate Khairuldin who came out with the idea two weeks before the tournament. Simply because he is undergoing training in Taiwan, otherwise he would have joined us with the rest of the spectators.

Proton, the main BWF Malaysia Open sponsor exhibits the Lotus Elise SC
Sudirman could not stop staring the eyes of Lotus... hehe

I'm always a big fan of Peter Gade and Lee Chong Wei

Look how Peter Gade launces a powerful attack on Boonsak Ponsana
(I uploaded this video on youtube)

Beaten at last. Peter Gade lost to Boonsak in rubber set

Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl celebrate after beating the Thais in a hard fought match

We really enjoyed the semifinal. Although we came from a far distance (Kulim to KL), it was worth it. I'm happy to see two Malaysian representatives in the final. I hope both Lee Chong Wei and double pair of Koo Kean Keat and Tan Boon Heong can win the titles.

Center-mounted speedometer: Man it's stugly!

.
If you ask me which car manufacturer started the idea of having center-mounted speedometer, I will promptly say I don't know. Who cares anyway? As far as I'm concern, Mini carries it's signature since it's first Morris Mini Minor in 1959. Being small, cute and compact, to have the speedometer at the middle of the dashboard does not downgrade its interior look at all, although some might consider it clownish. To me it just works for Mini but not for other cars, seriously!

1966 Morris Mini Cooper interior

Take, for example, the latest Perodua Kancil, its center-mounted speedometer looks so awkward, in fact it makes it one of the stugliest car interiors I've ever seen in this decade! Besides, what on earth did they make it twisted since they had twisted the focus of the driver at the very beginning...(?)

Last Kancil model
Center console is fine but with speedometer on top of it makes it look like two eyes-robot with twisted cap

For that reason, I hate Nissan Otti (Mitsubishi Kei-Car), Naza Sutera (Hafei Lobo), Saturn Ion, new Perodua Alza (2010), Toyota Vios/Belta (2007), Toyota Yaris/Vitz (2007). Besides, Vios really looks like a dugong to me.. as much as my Perodua Myvi looks so froggy to them.. huahuahua..

I never wonder why people still buy them. You manufacturers don't give buyers much options. If it is about buyers' preference, majority of us still prefer the conventional steering wheel-position speedometer rather than the center one. Speedometer is for the driver not passenger. I'm very sure if similar new cars are produced with two options, center-mounted and steering-wheel position speedometers, definitely the later outclassed the former in a huge margin. Think about it!

No x-bar symbol in Microsoft Word 2007: Create your own

It's almost new year and I need to submit my exp report to my superior as soon as possible. When statistical calculation involves, symbol such as overbar (¯) on an alphabet is hardly avoided. As an advanced Microsoft Word user, I agree that MW2007 works way better than MW2003. However, failing to find x-bar symbol in MW2007 was way too frustrating. How could such an important symbol like x-bar isn't included in MW2007 symbols?

I believe I'm not the only one in this world facing this problem.

For that reason I googled for solution. It takes less than one minute to realize that this problem has been addressed in the internet for quite sometimes. A general guideline to create an overbar has been quite well described by Suzanne S. Barnhill in CREATING OVERBAR.

The best solution has been posted by Christie Lewis in Youtube. I like her blog too. Her blog has been all about Microsoft Office.
http://officehowto.blogspot.com/

Short Video: Inserting an X-bar Symbol in Word

I learned my lesson well, alhamdulellah. Now I can create not just x-bar but I can personalize many other symbols which are not included in MW2007. It's easy, you can do it too.